This invention relates to dispensers for products which have a continuous length and are stored on a roll, specifically to a paper towel dispenser having remote means including a foot pedal for causing rotation of the paper towel roll so that separable towels thereon, or portions of a continuous roll of toweling which may be torn from the toweling remaining on the roll into assorted lengths, are offered one at a time to a person needing a towel without a need for the person's hands to contact anything but the portion of clean toweling dispensed through the housing. It is contemplated, for application to include; but not be limited to, the dispensing of paper towels from a roll in public rest rooms, rest rooms in restaurants, hospitals, office buildings, and other facilities wherein it is desirable for people who have washed their hands to thereafter expose them to a minimum of post-washing contamination.